At the height of the flu, colds and various viruses that children catch day after day, many parents find themselves with the difficult task of administering medications to the little ones. Most children have trouble drinking medication, even in many cases, they end up vomiting it. And this poses a dilemma for concerned parents, who do not know what to do in this situation.
It is not the same that you have administered an anti-inflammatory, an antipyretic, an antibiotic, for example. So in case the drug is to treat some unusual disease or pathology, it is important that you inform your pediatrician to be sure. In case that the child vomits a medicine Of those mentioned as common use, there are guidelines in relation to time to know what to do next.
One of the most important points that you should know is that most of the medications that are usually administered to children, are effective in many different doses. Also, the maximum recommended amount is never used for each age or weight range. This means that even if the child vomits after taking the medicine, it is possible that his body has absorbed enough for it to be effective.
Should the dose be repeated if the child vomits it?
What pediatricians indicate in the event that the child vomits the medication, is that, based on the time that has passed since you have taken it until he vomits it, he will have to act one way or another. This is because the body takes a minimum time to absorb the components of the medicine.
- The child vomits as soon as he takes the medicine. If it has been less than 15 minutes since the child has taken the medicine, his body will not have absorbed anything. Therefore, you will have to give the same amount again of the medicine.
- If the little one vomits the medicine 15 to 30 minutes later. In this case, the body has been able to absorb an amount of the medication, which may be enough for it to be effective. Could you give medicine to make sure it does a full effect, but in this case, the amount would be half.
- In the event that the child vomits after 30 to 60 minutes. The body has already had enough time to absorb almost all the components of the drug. Therefore, this time You would NOT have to give him the medicine again to your son. However, if when you collect the vomit you see that the color of the medicine appears, what you can do is advance the next dose. If the next one is at 8 o'clock, you could advance it to 4 or 6 o'clock.
- If the child vomits after an hour. The drug will have been fully assimilated, so in this case it will fully comply with its effectiveness and no need to repeat the dose.
Tricks to prevent children from vomiting medication
To prevent the child from vomiting the medicine, it is necessary to know the cause. There are children who vomit as soon as they see the medication, others cannot bear the taste, if they have a cough, vomiting may appear before an attack of this, etc. Find out first what is the reason why your child vomits the medicine:
- If you vomit from the taste of the medicine, you can mix it with a little fruit juice or yogurt. Try not to be too much in case it is a liquid.
- If you have a coughBefore giving the medicine, perform a nasal wash and try to drink plenty of water. Wait for the coughing attack to pass and the child to be able to breathe properly.
- If you are syringing the medicine, try to place the tip on the side of the mouth. In this way, the medicine it will not go down the throat directly, preventing the child from gagging and vomiting.